Where ever you see them, they sleep in the chilling cold, walk naked or semi naked and absorb the heat of the scorching sun. We mindlessly watch them heavily beaten by the torrential rains, feed from the poisonous gutters and from the heaps of gabage and of course, they quench their thirst from muddy water. And nobody cares, yet, they survive!
You can call them any derogatory name you like, but you cannot pretend that they are not Nigerians like you and I. Neither can one define them as not purely human. It is the humanity reaction we ought to exhibit, to send our passionate heart to them and rid them of dehumanisation culture. Who will be responsible for their welfare and rehabilitation? Governments, relatives and organisations are all unanimously involved. But they are unconcerned and unmoved by human feelings, like a rock solidly fixed to the earth.
To use a more respectful term, these are Nigerians afflicted with mental disorders but are left like wild animals to live on their own and are denied the appropriate treatment they deserve in order to restore their human dignity, albeit they have their share of the national cake but devoured by the hungry lions. Unfortunately, there seems to be nothing forthcoming to address this escalating menace for the meantime.
According to the World Health Organization, one in every four Nigerians is suffering from some sort of mental illness. In 2018, the Federal Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Abdulaziz Abdullahi said three in every 10 Nigerians were afflicted by one form of mental disorder or the other. Even with this frightening revelation, they are yet to be accorded the priority they deserve in our scheme of affairs. It is therefore appropriate to indict our governments for not making budgetary allocation to implement mental health policy to address their predicament.
In 1916, during the colonialists, there was what was then called ‘Lunacy Act’ which originated to address the problem of mental disorder. It underwent minimal reform in 1958. Interestingly, the Ordinance permitted magistrates to order the detention of the mentally ill, including those who attempted suicide or engaged in self-inflicted harm. But the story is entirely different now as lunatics can be seen attempting suicide. Is crossing main roads, unmindful of dangers, by these Nigerians not suicide attempt?
However, in 2002, a mental health bill was presented by a federal lawmaker but sadly, the bill died after many years of advocacy simply because the legislators did not demonstrate enough interest. But the Indians showed us how they liked the mentally retarded. The Parliament of that country passed the mental health care bill which provides for state care facilities, spells out rules and protects the rights of persons with mental deformity. It compels the state to ensure access to affordable health care for them.
This India’s law of envy to right thinking people also stipulates that every mentally deformed person shall have right to access mental health care and treatment from mental health services run or funded by the India’s government. The law also declares that the government is mandated to provide free treatment to them. It further emphasises that persons with psychiatric abnormality have the right to live in a community and cannot be segregated from the society. The Indian government is also mandated to provide legal and other necessary support to help them live a regular life.
Looking at the mentally ill from the American perspective, an Act of Congress in the US in 2010 replaced the derogatory term ‘ mental retardation’ with ‘ intellectual disabilities’ in describing them. From instances drawn from these two countries, Nigeria is not set to redeem this class of despised people. A trial of rehabilitating them can give them a sense of human and national belonging but our priorities are elsewhere. I still remember that while living in Jos in the early 1980’s, the then Plateau state government embarked on the coersive apprehension of such people and the end result was marvelous as some of them were completely transformed from the state of mental disorder to mental order.
It is disheartening that while our governments pay meagre services to the plight of these neglected creatures, yet they harass them to boost occasions. For instance, in 2011, the Akwa Ibom state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare evacuated lunatics from the streets in preparation for President Good luck Jonathan’s one day visit to the state. In the same vein, the Anambra state government raided the streets of Awka and Nnewi to clear them of mad people and beggars ahead of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegu Ojukwu’s burial.
In developed countries, the insane do not parade the streets dangerously and live on their own. They are given full human treatment. One Ibrahim Zakari who was living in America was observing a mourning for his deceased mother in Jos in the mid eighties when he sighted a mad man roaming the street surrounded by high risks. Instantly, he became furious, for he was not used to seeing this human negligence in the US.
They call this democracy to include all people, regardless of mentally ordered or disordered. Can we say that the lunatics have enjoyed the dividends of democracy as Nigerians? If the answer is in the negative, who will be their audible voice so as to enable fair distribution of the nation’s wealth include them? Here, the civil society groups are guilty of not advocating for their transformation. The National Assembly has not done justice to this class of Nigerians by not enacting laws that will favour them as demonstrated by India and other countries. Of course, the executive has also failed by not complying with the constitutional injuction that it should protect the welfare of its citizens.
Our religious leaders are also indicted for their inability to mobilise the government and all strong individuals and groups to come to the aid of these people. The media outlets are part of the apportionating of this blame. They have not done a thoroughly professional work to set the right agenda to liberate these Nigerians. As for our philanthropists, it is high time to cut down their expenditures on sports and other amusment activities and champion the cause of the insane. Recal that the late soccer legend Rashidi Yekini passed away uncared as a semi lunatic after giving us the best football entertainment.
If we are to go by compassionate impulses and standard, lunatics, mad, insane are all Nigerians who need adequate care for their possible transformation.
Abdu Abdullahi
